Meet Mason Finocchio, a 2018 national FFA proficiency finalist, who has taken a stand against hunger in his community. Most kids Mason Finocchio’s age are thinking about college, future careers and their plans for Friday night. Finocchio thinks about those things, too, but his primary concern is helping the less fortunate. “I found out that in my community, the poverty level is 18 percent, which is 4 percent higher than the national average,” says Finocchio. “Because of that, I decided to start a project through FFA dedicated to knocking out hunger in our community.” The recent graduate of Bald Eagle Area [...]

Brooksville Sr. FFA members are using their Yearlong Living to Serve Grant to address coastal erosion due to the removal of invasive plants. Removing invasive plants is important. However, it left coastal areas bare and more susceptible to erosion. The chapter has been working with the University of Florida (UF) to research salinity tolerance in different coastal plants so that they can help restore some of the wetlands. About 500 plants and seeds have been propagated and are being cared for by the FFA members. The chapter is now working with UF to identify planting sites to continue their project. Brookville [...]